---
title: Credits
description: How credits work and what things cost.
---

Credits pay for AI generation at the same rates in every [Product](/getting-started/what-is-jellypod), whether you work in the Studio, the API or MCP.

## How credits are consumed

| What Jellypod generates | Cost |
| --- | --- |
| Narration | 30 credits per minute of audio, billed by the second |
| Image | 7 credits per generated image |
| Video clip | 20 credits per generated clip |

- Podcast episode: narration, plus images and clips when the video template generates visuals.
- Short or video: narration, plus 7 or 20 credits per shot, depending on whether the shot is a still image or an animated clip.
- Voiceover: narration only, since your uploaded pages are the visuals.

### Estimates and holds

When you click Generate, Jellypod checks your balance and holds the estimated cost so another generation can't spend it. The estimate is a ceiling: it assumes every shot an animating style can animate becomes a clip, and rounds up to the next 5 credits. When generation finishes, the hold settles to what was actually generated.

A 30-second Short with 7 shots is estimated at 65 credits if every shot is a still image, and up to 155 if every shot is an animated clip. A 10-minute episode on a Podcast Template costs 300 credits.

For what a failure costs, see [if episode generation fails](/podcasts-and-episodes/episode-generation-failed) and [video generation failures](/video-generation-failures).

### What uses no credits

- Editing and previewing, on every plan including Free.
- Regenerating narration once an episode, Short, video or Voiceover has audio, even after you edit the text or change the host. A [daily limit](/podcasts-and-episodes/regenerating-individual-segments#credits-and-the-daily-limit) applies.
- Rendering, re-rendering, publishing, scheduling and downloading. Downloading or publishing again later does not charge again.

Regenerating a still visual costs 7 credits. Regenerating an animated visual quotes 20 credits; if animation fails and you get a still image, the final charge is 7 credits.

Rendering, publishing, sharing and downloading audio or video need a free trial or a paid plan, though transcripts and captions download on every plan.

## Free and monthly credits

New accounts start on the Free plan with 500 one-time credits and no credit card. Accounts with a disposable or Proton email address get no free credits.

Starter, Educator, Creator and Business include a monthly allocation, listed in [plan limits](/account-and-billing/plans-and-pricing#plan-limits). It refreshes every billing cycle, even on annual plans. Enterprise credits are unlimited, sized to your contract.

- Rollover: a monthly allocation spends in the month it is granted and the month after, then expires.
- Top-ups: [credit top-ups](/account-and-billing/purchasing-credit-top-ups) never expire.
- Cancelation: when a subscription ends, its unused plan credits expire and you return to the Free plan. Purchased top-ups stay and still spend.
- Educator grants: an Educator credit grant renews on its own schedule, even if you cancel a paid plan during your Educator offer.

## Check your balance

Your balance shows in the account menu at the bottom of the Studio sidebar. For the usage chart and CSV or JSON export, go to Settings → Usage; see [viewing invoices](/account-and-billing/viewing-invoices).

## If you run out of credits

On a paid plan, starting a generation without enough credits opens You're out of credits, with Upgrade plan and Buy credits. Members without billing permission see Ask an admin on your team to buy credits instead. On Free or a trial, the plan picker opens so you can subscribe.

At a zero balance you can still chat with the editor assistant or the Character builder and edit your content. Only actions that spend credits, such as generating narration, images or clips, are refused.